Students need to reflect on the practice of science to fully understand the nature of science (NOS), which is an important component of scientific literacy. In this paper, the authors describe how to implement an explicit and reflective pedagogy in college science laboratories and share examples from their implementation in a multiple-section…

I respond to Baron and Chen's article on creative cultural divergence, which they describe as the novel pedagogy of diverging from culturally generated educational expectations. Their article provides an analysis on how an experienced Taiwanese teacher drew on different forms of creative cultural divergence to facilitate students' critical…

The goal of this study is to map the current state of research in the field of metacognition in science education, to identify key trends, and to discern areas and questions for future research. We conducted a systematic analysis of 178 studies published in peer-reviewed journals in the years 2000-2012 and indexed in the ERIC database. The…

Our paper is an analytical review of the design, development and reporting of learning progressions and teaching sequences. Research questions are: (1) what criteria are being used to propose a "hypothetical learning progression/trajectory" and (2) what measurements/evidence are being used to empirically define and refine a "hypothetical learning…

Questions as tentative and not universally acceptable some of the assumptions put forth by Romer, namely, that a scientific theory: is a deductive exercise; must accord with the facts; ought to be inflexible; is an explanation. (GH)

Photographs of streakies were used to teach the concept of Rutherford scattering. Magnetic pucks with lights were used as streakies. (PS)

Describes a device designed to shoot rubber bands. Children investigate and measure forces, angles, distances and differences in materials used. (JM)

Discusses the uses of science fiction in the biology classroom. Included is a bibliography of biological science fiction classified according to topic. (BB)

Discusses physical phenomena which can be demonstrated by using a coffee cup, involving the short-range field, alpha-particle scattering, standing waves, and Bohr's closed electron orbits. Indicates that observation of the physics of the classroom in everyday objects can attract student interest in physics learning. (CC)

This publication examines the role of the science teacher, and how the teacher brings to his work substance, structure, and style. The substance of science and technology consists of two elements: its products, the conceptual schemes and tools which give scientists and laymen their comprehension of the world; and the processes which enable…

Discusses the historical rod contraction-block retardation (RC-CR) ether theory to illustrate its relationship to the special theory of relativity and the possibility of experimental differences between them. Indicates that the RC-CR theory is worthy of the attention of both physicists and science philosophers. (CC)

Describes a study investigating the use of class discussion following a period of unstructured observation and experimentation as a method of increasing the student's ability to view scientific problems as useful starting points for investigation. (SL)

Describes an alternative to the historical approach for teaching special relativity to secondary physics students. (SL)

Describes classroom activities to understand the evolution of elements as it occurs in the stars. Activities can be undertaken in groups. Explicit instructions and background materials are included. (PS)